Shop Windows to the Universe

This photo is of Jim Benedict imparting momentum to a softball!
Click on image for full size Courtesy of Jim Benedict

Jim Benedict

I have always been curious about how things in nature work. Growing up in New England, my house was sometimes hit by thunderstorms, hurricanes, and snowstorms that always seemed to amaze me. I became interested in science and math in early elementary school, and by seventh grade I was drawing weather maps and making weather forecasts for my friends when a big snowstorm was approaching.

Currently, I study a type of large tropical storm called the “Madden-Julian Oscillation.” This storm is very difficult to forecast and can affect weather patterns from India to Australia to the western United States. I hope to find out how this storm system works... by understanding how it works, meteorologists can then improve future computer forecast models and do a better job at predicting when and where it will happen. I enjoy studying the weather because I like being able to connect what I learn in school to events that happen in everyday life. To me, the weather is interesting because it can be powerful and mysterious.

Outside of doing weather research, I also enjoy hiking and camping with friends, watching the Red Sox and Celtics on TV, and playing softball, tennis, racquetball, and basketball.

You might also be interested in:

I have always been curious about how things in nature work. Growing up in New England, my house was sometimes hit by thunderstorms, hurricanes, and snowstorms that always seemed to amaze me. I became interested...more

I first became interested in studying science and math in about the 8th grade when I discovered my love for reading maps (specifically weather maps) and graphs and plots. Plus, I grew up in Northeast...more

I am a graduate student at Colorado State University and I study drought. For my masters thesis, I am using global climate models to study drought over the Great Plains of the United States. I am most...more

Growing up, I used to spend weekends at my grandmother's house in the north Georgia mountains. I loved exploring the woody hillsides and creek near her house. Those hikes sparked my interest in earth science...more

I've been interested in the weather since I was a little girl. I grew up in Maryland and during the summer I would call the weather line every hour to find out if we had a chance of thunderstorms or not....more

I haven't always been interested in weather and climate science, but after getting my undergraduate degree in mathematics I wanted to move into a field that was easier to apply to the real world. Being...more

Altocumulus clouds are part of the Middle Cloud group (2000-7000m up). They are grayish-white with one part of the cloud darker than the other. Altocumulus clouds usually form in groups and are about...more